Sick Leave
by SheRa-ver
Summary: We all know Jack Atlas as the cocky, vain, lazy young man who knows only himself, his cards, and his duel runner, but there are sides of him we haven't seen yet. When Carly falls sick, Jack is the only person left to care for her. That means he has to show concern, but it's going to take a while for him to get it right.
1. Chapter 1

**Sick Leave**

Jack slipped out of bed, just waking up. It was freezing. The previous weather had been cold, but he never expected snow. Wrapping one of Carly's blankets around him, he entered Carly's kitchen. She was fully dressed and was microwaving two ramen cups.

"Ramen for breakfast?" Jack asked, walking closer to Carly. She turned to him and he raised his eyebrows. Her face was sweaty and pale, her nose was red and runny, and her big, bare eyes were lacking a little of their usual shine. "I don't want to eat that. Who eats ramen for breakfast?"

"I'm late for work. I'm in a hurry," she explained hurriedly. "I-"

Suddenly, her cheeks bulged and she turned to the kitchen sink. Leaning over it, she began retching horribly. Jack covered his nose and mouth with the blanket, shielding himself from any smells. It was obvious to Jack that Carly was ill - probably some stomach flu. Carly's body looked limp and weak. Her face radiated nausea as she began to fall. Jack caught her just as the microwave dinged.

"Ugh, I've got to get to work," Carly groaned, feebly holding onto Jack. He shook his head firmly.

"Don't be stupid. You're _sick_!" Carly shook her own head just as firmly as he had.

"I can't just skip out! I need money! Plus I've used up all of my vacation days. I can't just..." Carly rambled on, listing many reasons why she couldn't stay at home. Jack stared at her.

This was one of the few times he had ever felt bad for another person. Sitting in front of him was an ill, blameless, responsibility burdened young women who had to make herself go to work when she was obviously in no state to. Looking into Carly's eyes, he became aware that he couldn't leave Carly to be in charge of herself in this situation because she'd surely make a wrong decision. _  
_

"Shut up," he silenced, wriggling out of his blanket and draping it around Carly's shoulders. She stopped talking and looked up at Jack. "Can you stand?" She tried, failed, then gasped when she was unexpectedly swept up into Jack's arms. He carried her back to her room and carefully placed her on her bed.

"My boss is going to kill me," she sighed, accepting that she was staying home. Jack brought out several other blankets from her closet.

"Forget him. If he does anything, I'll call him up personally." Carly flashed a small smile as Jack layered the blankets on top of her.

"Jack," she said when he had finished. He turned to her, his concentrated eyes softening when they met hers. "Thank you." He nodded curtly before exiting the room to get their breakfast.

Carly was left alone with her thoughts. For such a long time, she had obsessed over Jack Atlas - the celebrity - because of his stunning looks, witty comebacks, and snappy attitude. His looks hadn't changed at all - nor the witty comebacks - but his attitude had completely flipped. Jack Atlas - now the commoner - was more mundane, empathetic, and sympathetic. That right there was why Carly liked him. The time they were spending together was teaching him how to be kinder, and she appreciated it so much.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a strange feeling in her stomach. "Jack!" she called, throwing the blankets off her. She ran out of her room, heading for the bathroom, but ran into something hard. Without warning, she vomited.

"Ah, _shit!_" Jack's voice yelled. Carly opened her closed eyes, and saw Jack with vomit covering his sweatshirt and the upper portion of his sweatpants. "Could you just keep that stuff down for a second?"

"I'm sorry, I-"

"You what, Carly?" he interrupted. "Jeez, just go lie down!"

Carly didn't mean to start crying, but she did. Jack breathed - realizing what he'd done - and apologized, but she held up a hand. "No. It's okay. You're just being you, that's it."

She grabbed the bathroom trashcan before entering her room again - this time, closing the door behind her. Jack sighed, slipping out of his sweatshirt and pants. He opened Carly's door slowly and stepped inside. Carly was under all the blankets, covered from view. Jack quickly got some new clothes and left the room.

When the door closed, Carly sat up. She wiped her eyes. She hated being fooled or tricked. Whenever she'd find out one of her Fortune Cards didn't work, she'd flush them down the toilet. If only she could do the same with Jack. He hadn't changed at all! If anything, he was even uglier than before, his witty comebacks were stupid, and his attitude was the exact same. Shaking her head, Carly collapsed into her pillow - feeling sicker than before.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Pharmacy**

Carly slowly crawled out from under her many blankets, tired of hiding. She was a little surprised that Jack hadn't made any further attempts to fix their fight. She picked up the bathroom trashcan for preference before stepping out into the hallway.

"Jack?" Carly called, noticing that all the lights were off in her apartment. Thinking of the possibilities, she raced to the coat rack. Jack would never leave any place without his racing jacket. Carly shook her head sadly when she saw that it wasn't there.

How many times had it been now that Jack had just run off? Carly plopped down on her sofa, shocked. It was only now - with Jack gone - that she was realizing how much she missed him. She actually enjoyed opening her home for him - she liked and appreciated the time she was spending with him. Sinking into the couch, she remembered that he was gone. Carly didn't know if he was coming back, but it didn't matter anymore. Wondering how their relationship had gotten so off course, Carly closed her eyes and miserably tried to sleep.

* * *

Jack strolled into a nearby pharmacy, his hands stuffed into his pockets for warmth. The snow outside was horrible. A plump man at the counter smiled warmly. The pharmacy was small and empty - they were probably closing down soon.

"And what can I get for...Hey!" the man jumped as he realized who had just walked into his store. "J-Jack Atlas?"

"Yup. Okay, uh, do you have-"

"Well, I don't believe it! How're you doing?" the man asked, tapping his name card. "The name's Charles. I'm still a fan."

"Thanks Charles," Jack said impatiently. "Okay, I-"

"What's it you need, Jack?" Charles asked happily. Jack held onto the counter, holding back his urges to just walk out.

"I need some medicine for the stomach flu." Charles nodded and stared at Jack for a long time. "What?"

"You sick, Jack?"

"No," he sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Who's the medicine for, then?"

"Well, I've got this girl back at home-"

"Ah," Charles winked. He took out a picture from under the counter and showed Jack. Jack took it in his hands and looked down to see Charles standing next to a woman with very curly brown hair. They were dressed in wedding attire. "Molly and I renewed our vows after twenty _years_ of marriage."

"Twenty years," Jack repeated, a small smile creeping onto his face. Charles and his wife looked so content. "Why'd you renew your vows?" he asked, looking up to see Charles fiddling around a shelf of medicine behind him.

"Well, we had a silly fight during our nineteenth year," Charles chuckled. Jack nodded understandingly, instantly thinking of Carly. "We didn't talk for a while, but I came back and said I was sorry."

"Why did you come back to apologize and not her?" Jack asked, laying the picture down. Charles turned and gave him a look.

"Because that's what a man does, Jack. In no relationship should a woman have to crawl back and apologize! If the guy really loves her, then he'll be the first back."

"What if she started crying and made it really clear that she doesn't want you back?" Jack asked under his breath.

"Hmm, is there trouble with this girl back at home?" Charles asked, acknowledging that he had heard. Jack laughed, feeling more comfortable talking to this man. "Well, you'll never know the outcome of anything unless you try."

Charles turned and pushed a bottle of medicine towards Jack. "Now you go home and make things better. Give her a couple spoonfuls of this and she'll be better in no time. That'll be ten dollars, please."

Jack pulled out a twenty after taking the bottle. Before exiting the door, Jack held up a hand in farewell. "Keep the change, Charles. Nice meeting you."

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys! Sorry, this chapter took longer than I expected to update. I wanted to make sure it was really well done. Don't worry, though, the next chapter will come out way faster. Thanks to everyone who has read this story. I'd love to know what you think :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**All Better**

Jack slowly walked up the stairs leading to Carly's apartment. Right now was the time he had to fix everything. Charles had spoken to him at the Pharmacy, and his words were established in his mind. Jack was back to apologize because that was what a man does. He stopped abruptly in front of Carly's apartment door and sighed deeply. Hiding the bottle of her medicine behind him, Jack opened the door, and stepped inside.

Carly was curled up on her couch, sleeping soundly. Her long, black hair was covering most of her face from view. The bathroom trashcan rested next to her, just in case she needed to throw up again. It took several times of Jack calling her name before she finally moved.

_"Carly!"_

"Wha, huh?" Carly mumbled, stirring lazily. She sat up straight, then scanned the room. When her eyes landed on Jack, she stood.

Carly couldn't believe what she was seeing. Jack Atlas stood in front of her. She glanced at the wall clock, realizing he had been gone for at least two hours. Jack stood with his hands behind his back and a confident smile plastered on his face. He laughed joyfully before opening his mouth to speak.

"I'm back!"

Those words were reason enough for Carly to propel forward. She reached her arm behind her, then brought it forward with as much intensity as she could manage. The force served Jack a painful slap to the face. Jack covered the affected area with his hands, letting a certain bottle fall to the ground. He straightened and patted his left cheek.

Carly stood in front of him, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She looked like a different person. Her hair had escaped from it's ponytail and was falling down in long waves. Her beautiful green eyes were filled with so much emotion - sadness, shock, and a great deal of anger.

"What the hell?" Jack boomed, but Carly wasn't staying to here him out. She raced to her room, returning with all of Jack's many suitcases. She threw them one by one towards him. "Carly, what the hell are you-"

"Get out," she interrupted, her tone as cold as the snow outside. Jack laughed, unsure of how to react. Carly shot him a look, confirming that she was not kidding.

"Why?" he asked.

"Seriously, Jack? You're such an imbecile!" she screeched. "I'm so sick of you just leaving without telling me where you're going, or why you're going! Look, Jack, I liked you. I loved you, actually, so how do you think it makes me feel when you just leave like how you've been doing?"

"I-"

"It hurts, Jack," she said choppily, her voice affected by tears. "It hurts like hell, because I've never loved anyone this way before! I've never opened my own home for another person, or cooked anyone else's meals but mine!"

Carly wiped her tears, her arms shaking slightly. Jack didn't know what he had to do. Saying sorry, obviously, wouldn't fix things anymore. How could he have let things get so far? Jack stepped closer timidly, but Carly backed away. Realizing the extent of this problem, Jack sat down on one of his suitcases to think.

He sighed and glanced up at Carly. He had caused many tears in his life, but he _never_ wanted to start Carly's ever again. It was really unnerving knowing that he could break a person down in such a way. After a while of silence, Jack got down on his knees in front of Carly. She looked at him dubiously, as he bowed his head.

"I was an idiot. I know this isn't going to make anything better right now, but I'm so _sorry_, and...I don't want to leave! Ah, shit," Jack snapped when he realized he was crying. Carly smiled and told him to look at her.

"It's okay. I get it."

"Let me finish!" Jack said, wiping his eyes with his jacket. After regaining his composure, he continued, and finally said what he really felt. "I love you, Carly."

Carly sat there for a few minutes. Jack looked up at her - feeling shy for the first time in his life. This was what she had wanted to hear from Jack for so long, and here he was - saying it. Jack Atlas loved her. Now what was the next step? Carly hadn't thought about what she would do after he confessed his true feelings. So, she did the first thing that came to mind.

Pulling Jack up to her eye level, she kissed him. Standing there, both Jack and Carly felt the magic. It was confirmation that everything was finally resolved, but it was also something else for Jack. He felt changed and knew that from then on, he would never forsake Carly the way he had been doing.

* * *

**A/N: Okay! I _think_ this is the last chapter. Did you like it? That fight was heated, huh? I'm really glad I could do a story where Carly and Jack actually end up together. ****I love Carly's character in the show, but I would like to see a stronger side of her. I know if I was Carly, that Jack would've been kicked out a while ago. :) Anyway, I'd love to know what you think. :)**


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